What We Do

Forests cover one-third of Earth and breathe life into our world, with tropical forests alone producing more than 40 per cent of the world’s oxygen. Forests are also the largest storehouses of carbon after oceans. So, it is no surprise that when we cut down or damage our forests, we release huge amounts of carbon emissions that contribute to devastating climate change.

But it is not just our planet that suffers when forests are destroyed. As forests are home to over eighty per cent of terrestrial biodiversity, deforestation of key tropical forests could lead to the loss of as many as 100 species a day. And, with more than 1 billion people directly dependent on forests for fuel, housing and nourishment, the fate of our forests may determine our own fate as well.

The WWF Forest and Climate Programme is committed to realizing the conservation and livelihood benefits of REDD+.

REDD+ should not only be recognized at the global level, but should also be defined and owned at the national level by tropical forest countries, and at the local level by the very communities that will most directly experience its impact.

What is REDD+?

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries and the conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (called REDD+), is an effort to make trees worth more standing than cut down by providing developing countries with economic incentives to protect their forests. When done right, in a way that safeguards the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples, REDD+ can not only benefit the climate, but also biodiversity and local livelihoods.

What is Zero Net Deforestation and Forest Degradation?

WWF defines ZNDD as no net forest loss through deforestation and no net decline in forests quality through degradation. ZNDD provides some flexibility: it is not quite the same as no forest clearing anywhere, under any circumstances. For instance, it recognizes peoples’ right to clear some forests for agriculture, or the value in occasionally “trading off” degraded forests to free up other land to restore important biological corridors, provided that biodiversity values and net quantity and quality of forests are maintained.